In Her Chucks

Skittles got nothing on me.  When I opened up my box today, I was waiting for a little leprechaun to jump out with a pot of gold.  This is what it means to eat the rainbow.

But before we go on to talk about healthy things, let’s get back to those Skittles.  I mean, really, who eats every color?  I for one, go for the reds first, then a few purples, possibly a yellow or green, but never an orange.  When I was a kid, I would always “share” the rest of my Skittles with my brother (can you still call it sharing if you are simply giving someone your leftovers?).  Turns out I did him a favor, because now he always goes for the colors no one likes first, the purples, oranges, yellows, when the rest of the group always wants the red.  Therefore he always gets what he wants :)

Anyways, I digress.  Back to my fruits and veggies.  Is that not the most beautiful sight?  And to top it off, they gave me rainbow chard!  So we are definitely in a rainbow mood today.

So many delicious options, I don’t even know where to start!  But I have to say, I was excited to see my little mandarins again.  I have been fighting a nasty cold, and these tiny gems deliver me with a nice dose of Vitamin C.  Though, not as much as those vibrantly green pineapple guavas.  They are in the top 10 for having the most Vitamin C found in a plant source.  So looks like I am in good hands.  The jury is still out on the guavas as to whether I will eat them raw or find a yummy dish in which to incorporate them.  But regardless of how they end up, my tummy is sure to be happy.

There is nothing like the tartness of a granny smith apple.  My mouth begins to water when I look at one.  The taste is so distinctive. I have so many delicious savory dishes in which I could use these.  But chances are I will make another dessert for Freddie, as he has his eye on an apple cake he would like to try.  We’ll see how it turns out.  I will have to make sure I leave at least one apple leftover though.  It is one of my favorite ingredients to throw into a side salad.  And that green leaf lettuce is calling my name.

One look at those sweet potatoes and I was in heaven.  I have had a strong craving for some sweet potatoes lately.  It’s definitely the time of year.  Sweet potatoes are always one of my favorite sides at Thanksgiving Dinner.  But of course, I never limit their appearance to that meal only.  I like to eat sweet potatoes all year round!  And with the leftover butternut squash I have yet to use up, I have a feeling these two will be having a rendezvous in the near future.

I love it when I get different ingredients in my box that can be used for the same recipe.  These bell peppers and shallots will work perfectly in a yummy chicken recipe I have planned.  This one is sure to be a post in the coming week.  The chard will probably make an appearance in that meal too since it has been a while since I have sautéed some chard as a side dish.  The last few times I have gotten chard I have experimented with other ways to prepare it.  All of which were a success but it never hurts to go back to an old classic.

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.  I can’t seem to shake them!  I just used the ones for the last two weeks in a delicious Bolognese recipe I found.  It’s rare to find tomato sauce recipes with fresh tomatoes.  Most of them call for canned.  So I was excited to see how it would turn out.  Plus, the recipe called for 2 lbs of tomatoes which is exactly how much I had.  Success!  I said last week I would make my homemade tomato sauce, and ended up trying something new.  Maybe I will go with my original plan but find a new way to use it, since we are little “pasta-ed” out at the moment.

Finally, turnips.  I can’t say I am very familiar with this vegetable.  But looking online, there seems to be a million ways to prepare them.  I am excited to see what will come of this experiment :)

Looks like I will have a colorful week ahead of me.  And who knows, the leprechaun might still show his face when I get to the end of the fruit and veggie rainbow!